The Bird Scene, starring Jade West
by AniZH
Summary: Barely anybody passes the Bird Scene on their first try, so noone expects much today. Until Jade West steps into the class room.


Today, it was again time for another bunch of Bird Scenes.

When you started at the beginning of ninth-grade at Hollywood Arts, as most students did, you had to do it on front of a class of older students. There was no other way, as the whole class had to do it over time (or rather wanted to do it to audition for plays) and everyone would know the secret of it as soon as the first students passed if they did it in front of each other.

Sikowitz was in his Junior acting class right now. Five new students would give it their first try in front of them. They would of course miss parts of their actual classes because of this but every teacher at Hollywood Arts accepted that as it was one of their oldest traditions that everyone deemed important.

"And don't forget not to tell anyone about your try," Sikowitz said just now while he ushered the third student out the door.

He had told the whole class that from the beginning and he knew not everyone would listen. Some of them would share their experience. But as not one of them knew the secret, it didn't matter all that much.

"Who else is there?" he said, looking out the door. Two students were left for this class before he could start teaching for the day.

"Can I finally get my turn?" the girl asked.

Sikowitz had just picked a student each time without them being able to say anything about it.

He considered leaving this girl for last, just to see how she would react, now that she had asked so directly for her turn, but... why not let her try next?

"Jade, right?" he made sure and after her nod he stepped aside and bowed. She went by, rolling her eyes at him for the bow, and that's when he knew this could get interesting after all.

Usually, the first tries weren't all that fun or interesting which was why everyone of the class already hung in their chairs, looking bored.

Barely anybody passed on their first try. Students were more likely to pass early if they came in the middle of the year or in later years than the first of high school. Sikowitz guessed it was a combination of them being older then and them being able to do it in front of their own class, people their own age, whom they had gotten to know at least a little until they had to try the Bird Scene.

But even then, barely anybody passed on their first try.

So, noone expected anyone to pass now. And the first try was never fun in any other way. In later tries there were break downs and desperate pleading and way too dramatic performances which all older students enjoyed. After their first, pretty neutral, try most students were just confused and let themselves be ushered out of the room way too fast.

Therefore, Sikowitz couldn't blame his students now for being extremely bored.

Though, he could imagine it going differently with this girl, with Jade, just by the way she already had rolled her eyes at him, her teacher, and how she now stood on stage in a seemingly confidently pose.

Sikowitz sat down and made a gesture: "You may start."

Jade was incredible. She didn't have any props with her like the girl before but she also didn't need them at all.

Though, Sikowitz had watched the Bird Scene a hundred times by now, this still made him emotional.

He realized that his students were also captured by her performance but when she ended it, nobody clapped, just like it was suppposed to be.

She looked straight ahead in slience for a minute or so before she relaxed her pose, fell out of her character and looked at Sikowitz: "What? Didn't you like it?"

He always tried to answer that kind of question honestly, so he said: "I think I did."

A very small smile went over Jade's face. "Great. So, I can audition for plays now?"

Sikowitz stood up. She didn't ask if she had done the scene right. But this would be too easy. She probably thought that he meant she did it right when he had told her he had liked it.

He therefore declared: "Just because I enjoyed the way you did the scene doesn't mean you've done it right."

The smile vanished out of Jade's face like it did with all the students when they arrived at such a point. Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe, you haven't done it right," he suggested. He couldn't outright say she hadn't done it right. If she didn't ask she hadn't done anything wrong after all.

"Maybe?" Jade repeated, raising her eyebrows.

Sikowitz just shrugged and Jade promptly said: "That's stupid. I'm satisfied with how I've done the scene and you just said you liked it as well. I won't do it again."

Sikowitz felt some of the students turn to him with an impressed face. Jade didn't seem to notice, stared right ahead at him, as if she wouldn't care about the older students in the room.

"What if that means you can't audition for any play?" Sikowitz asked. He couldn't give her this win so easy. They never did.

Jade huffed, crossing her arms in front of her. "Then this school is more than stupid. I've done a good job. If you wanted the scene a certain way, you should have told us beforehand. But you didn't and my version was good and if that's the rule, I don't think I want to act in any of this school's awful plays."

Sikowitz looked around the room, now everyone looked impressed.

Well, this was certainly different. There had been other students who had passed the Bird Scene on their first try but Sikowitz didn't think he had ever seen anyone staying so calm during it. Staying so calm while they were told they possibly couldn't act in any school plays.

And he was sure it wasn't because Jade didn't want to act in any of them. He seemed to remember her audition and she had clearly talked about acting more than about music – though she also sung for her audition, after she had acted out a scene.

"Well..." Sikowitz finally said. "I guess you passed the Bird Scene."

He started clapping, the students only slowly joining in because they hadn't seen or heard anything like this as well – and maybe thought she really didn't care although she obviously was a great actress.

Jade pulled her eyebrows together but nothing else changed, nothing else betrayed her own confusion she definitely had to feel.

Sikowitz explained the point of the Bird Scene like he always did when someone passed it.

When he was finished, Jade dropped her arms from where she had still had them crossed. "Good. So, I am able to audition?"

Sikowitz nodded and Jade asked: "I can go now?"

Sikowitz nodded another time and without saying anything else, without cheering on her success, without showing any sign of happiness at all, she crossed the classroom and left. Sikowitz looked after her and was sure though to see a big smile spreading on her face after she had walked down the hallway and then turned into another.

Sikowitz heard one of the students behind him say: "Well, she is good." And murmers agreeing to that.

He smiled while he called in the last student for the day.

He knew, Jade would have a bright future. This, just now, had already put her up high in the school's hierarchy. And with her confidence, with her knowledge about her own abilities, noone could stop her in school or after.

Now, it would just take a little work, a few pushes here and there to help her make her acting even better, and she surely would be one of the best one day.


End file.
